GWU comes to life, puts away winless foe 51-14

BOILING SPRINGS – A win over lightly regarded Warner College – a program yet to taste victory in its first season – was expected and delivered Saturday by the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs.

Beating anyone 51-14 is usually cause for celebration. But the mistakes of the first half weren’t easy to put behind for GWU (5-4). Three first-quarter turnovers and four total in the opening half found Gardner-Webb in a 14-14 tie with only six minutes left before the break.

But GWU punched in 10 points in the last 3:25 of the first half then went on a 20-0 third-quarter spree to break the contest open at Spangler Stadium.

“Turnovers are the No. 1 factor whether you win or lose,” said GWU head coach Carroll McCray. “In the first half we didn’t perform well. The turnovers led to some sloppy play.

“But we settled down, got our running game going and were very pleased how we performed after that.”

Two early interceptions also meant a temporary quarterback change. Chandler Browning came on take the snaps after Lucas Beatty’s early struggles. Beatty would return and turn in a strong second-half when GWU finally pulled away from the 0-10 Royals.

“Chandler came in and did a nice job,” said McCray. “It was good to see him make some plays. Down the stretch we might need him.

“But Lucas came back and performed well in the second half. He ran the offense and was sharp.”

GWU’s defense, which gave up two touchdowns after the turnovers put Warner in good field position early on, slammed the door the rest of the way.

Perhaps the key play was on the initial series of the third quarter with GWU ahead 24-14. Warner faked a punt – something the ‘Dogs had prepared for – and the play failed. GWU’s offense then scored on its next three series to blow it open.

“We knew it was something they did and we had a good key on it,” said McCray. “We got the ball back. It was good to see our defense make a big play, then our offense come off it with a big play. You like to see them support each other that way.”

Freshman Rod Talley came off the bench to supply 107 yards rushing for the ‘Dogs, to go along with starter Juanne Blount’s 98. Beatty threw for 231 yards, one of those completions to Don Manning for his first career touchdown.

The GWU defense, led by Tyler Hough-Jenkins up front along with linebacker Chad Geter, limited Warner to 10 first downs on the day and 165 total yards. Brandon Swayze returned an interceptions 32 yards for the ‘Dogs only fourth-quarter score.

Linebacker Tanner Burch was disqualified for a ‘targeting’ hit on the Warner quarterback and will be forced to sit out the first half of next week’s Big South contest at VMI.

Inside the Game

Gardner-Webb redshirt-junior wideout Kenny Cook had another big game for the ‘Dogs against Warner Saturday.

Cook, at 6-4, 210 pounds, was a big target for the GWU quarterbacks. He hauled in eight catches for 179 yards and two touchdowns in the 51-14 non-conference win. The yardage was a single-game high in career.

He took in scoring throws of 25 yards from Chandler Browning and 52 yards from Lucas Beatty, the latter one when he took a short toss and spun away from tacklers to break into the open field.

“You’re not surprised to see him do well,” said GWU head coach Carroll McCray. “He made some big plays and lot of it was after he caught the football. He has a lot of determination and when No. 19 goes to work, its great to see that. He performed well today.”